Since the 17th century, the destiny of the château and that of its owners have been intimately linked. The oldest known owner was the knight Antoine de Lascombes, who gave his name to the estate in the 17th century. In the 18th century, one of his successors, Jean-François de Lascombes, prosecutor and councillor at the Bordeaux Parliament, dedicated part of his fortune to the wine of Lascombes in order to improve its quality. In 1855, the château’s owner, Mlle Hue, witnessed the classification of Château Lascombes as a Grand Cru. The wine then became a second grand cru classé, attesting to its quality and reputation. In 1952, the owner and wine merchant Alexis Lichine contributed to the château’s worldwide renown, and since 2022, the American Lawrence family, whose vineyards are renowned in California’s Napa Valley, has owned the château. The new owners’ objective is simple: to enhance the reputation and quality of Lascombes wine in line with its position in the 1855 classification. Excellence became the watchword. In 2023, this choice of excellence was marked by the arrival of a new managing director: Axel Heinz, the former oenologist and director of the great Italian estates, Ornellaia and Masseto.
The entire winemaking process has been reviewed to ensure that the wine expresses all the complexity and sublimity of a terroir ideally placed in the Margaux appellation. Today, the estate covers 120 hectares of vineyards in the Margaux appellation, spread around three of the appellation’s five villages. It is made up of 48% Cabernet Sauvignon, 48% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc. The high percentage of Merlot makes Lascombes a unique vineyard on the left bank. The ‘historic heart’ around the château is made up of deep gravelly soils in which Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot flourish. These parcels reflect the most classic expression of the great wines of Margaux and are at the heart of the blend for the estate’s flagship wine. The Merlot grapes show their best qualities closer to the river, in the northern part of the estate, where the gravelly soils lie on marly limestone subsoils. Under the guidance of Axel Heinz, the technical team consists of Delphine Barboux, Technical Director, Jérôme Le Roux, Cellar Master and David Houdet, Vineyard Manager. They work closely together to create a Margaux-style wine that is transparent, elegant and pure, in which the uniqueness of each parcel of vines can flourish. Today, extractions and maceration times are adapted to suit each parcel. The wines are matured mainly in barrels with varying proportions of new oak, adapted to each wine, with small percentages of wines matured in foudres and amphorae to find the best balance between purity of fruit and structured but polished tannins.
